Monstra mihi pecuniam!

5/23/2003 – That's Latin for Show me the money! We are talking about "Ducats", the virtual currency
used on the Playchess.com server. You
can get ducats in the ChessBase shop or win them in games and tournaments. Then
you can use them to buy ChessBase products or pay for grandmaster training.
Read all about the exciting new possibilities for
online chess players.

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Ducats for Chess

There are a number of monetary transactions that you can undertake on the Playchess.com
server. For instance you may pay for the privilege of playing against a grandmaster,
or in a simultaneous exhibition, or for a private lesson by a chess trainer.

"Ducats" are the currency of the Playchess server. The word is pronounced
"Duck-it"
(click to hear), and it rhymes approximately with "bucket". You can
purchase ducats in the ChessBase
Shop, or you can earn them from other visitors. It is even possible to win
ducats in tournaments or other events on the server.

You can also get to the ducats filling station directly from your Fritz program,
using the Menu Edit – Payments – Fill up account. For 10 Euros
or $11.50 you can buy 100 ducats. Another way of getting ducats is to take part
in tournaments on the Playchess.com server. All prizes there are paid out in
ducats.

You can always check your ducat account by clicking Edit – Payments
– View account. Your account is maintained on the Playchess server,
and every time you gain or spend ducats you will see that the amount changes
in the above display.

How do you play for ducats in normal games on the Playchess.com server? This
is done in the regular "Challenge" menu. Click on the "Ducats"
tab and you will get the offer screen. It will take you a few seconds to understand
how it works, but you will soon discover that it is wonderfully flexible.

In the above example a (presumably strong) player is asking for a flat fee
of 10 ducats for a game. At the same time the stake is 5 ducats. The Fritz client
automatically displays what the challenger will get for winning (flat fee plus
stake = 15 ducats), drawing (just the flat fee = 10 ducats) and losing (flat
fee minus stake = 5 ducats).

Naturally normal players will not ask for a flat fee but simply play for the
stake. Note that this is restricted to a maximum 5 ducats per game. Also please
note that you may only play for ducats if the laws of your country or state
do not forbid playing for prize money.

What do you make of the following offer?

Looks mysterious at first, doesn't it – asking for a flat fee of minus
20 ducats. But it makes a lot of sense when you consider that this may be a
normal player offering to pay for a game. Naturally the challenge will have
to be defined in the "Formula" which is at the bottom of the "Challenges"
section:

When you click "Formula" you get the following dialog:

Note that the challenger here wants to play only against opponents who have
the rank of King, i.e. they must be certified Grandmasters, with a Playchess
rating of over 2500. The time controls are 5 – 10 minutes per game. Note
that the "Ducats" checkbox must be active for a ducat challenge to
be issued.

Now you should understand what the player with the negative flat fee is doing.
With the formula defined as above he is requesting a game against a grandmaster
and is willing to pay a flat fee of 20 ducats ($2.30). If a certified GM takes
up the challenge he stands to win 25 ducats, or at least get 15 if he loses
to the amateur.

People can also actively offer services in return for ducats on the Playchess
server. In the above example a GM is offering to play for ducats or give personal
online lessons at a rate of 250 Ducats an hour.

So what else can you do with ducats, the ones you have bought or won in games
and tournaments? Well, simply purchase software or other products in the ChessBase
Shop.

If you pay for software in ducats you will still have to give your credit card
number to cover the amount (in case you lose it all on the server before the
order can be completed). However if your ducat account has enough to cover the
bill nothing will be deducted from your credit card.

So,
if you plan to use our products, and if you are a regular visitor to the Playchess
server, why don't you go to the ChessBase
Shop and fill up on some ducats. There are loads of nice things you can
do with them.

See also

12/30/2017 – The "King Salman World Blitz & Rapid Championships 2017" in Riyadh from Decemer 26th to 30th. At the half way point of the Blitz Championship, the defending champ Sergey Karjakin leads with 9 / 11. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is a half point back followed by Peter Svidler and a trio of Chinese: Wang, Ding and Yu on 8 / 11. In the Women's Pia Cramling has a full point lead with 9½ / 11. Watch live with Rounds 11 to 22 from 12:00 Noon CET (6:00 AM EST) on Saturday with commentary by E. Miroshnichenko & WGM K. Tsatsalashvili.

See also

12/6/2017 – Imagine this: you tell a computer system how the pieces move — nothing more. Then you tell it to learn to play the game. And a day later — yes, just 24 hours — it has figured it out to the level that beats the strongest programs in the world convincingly! DeepMind, the company that recently created the strongest Go program in the world, turned its attention to chess, and came up with this spectacular result.

Video

On this 60 mins video we are going to concentrate on a simple, very solid idea in the main line Scandinavian, which even Magnus Carlsen has used to win games. Black focusses on making his life easy in the opening and forces White to work very hard to get advantage – but it is doubtful if White can get an advantage. Club players are always on the lookout for effective, time-saving solutions and here we have just that. Accompany FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin on this 60 mins video. You can learn a new opening system in 60 mins and start to play it with confidence on the very same day!